Marketing

Our program, ranked No. 3 in the U.S. by College Factual, offers a path to a creative, dynamic, and exciting career that influences the flow of goods, services, and ideas between producers and consumers or organizations. Our students learn how to keep an organization responsive to its environments, while managing growth and meeting needs of a multitude of publics.

Noteworthy

Julia Messina ’16 explored marketing and found a career

As a marketing assistant for the education services and supplies company Pearson, Julia Messina ’16 is putting the skills she learned at Bryant to work ensuring that her employer stays at the industry's forefront.

She’s excited to work in a field she loves. “I think it’s important to find something you’re going to be passionate about,” she says.

Working in a changing environment

While Messina wasn’t initially sure where she would attend college, she and her twin sister, Maria, both high school swimmers, were quickly won over by Bryant. “Something about the atmosphere on campus caught our attention,” says Messina. “We just felt at home here. We met the swim coach and attended a few classes with members of the swim team and we realized it was a perfect fit.”

"I like to be creative, and marketing is such a broad field that it that allows you to try everything."

That perfect fit helped Messina, a Business Administration major with a Marketing concentration, build the skills and experience she needed for her career. At Pearson, she assists with event planning for trade shows, drafts a monthly e-newsletter for higher education administrators, researches and prepares marketing campaigns and promotional materials, and helps manage the company’s social media.

Messina is especially proud of her work on the company’s National Distance Learning Week web conference. One of Pearson’s most popular events, attendance for the 2016 session doubled that of the previous year.

“Webinars and web conferences are a growing area,” Messina says. “A lot of companies are heading that way. I’m glad I get to be part of that.”

Gaining confidence

Messina's love of marketing developed early in her Bryant career through an introductory course that "made me really excited about my future,” she says. “I hadn’t thought about going to school for business, but after a couple of classes in marketing it sparked a passion. I like to be creative, and marketing is such a broad field that it that allows you to try everything. You can go in so many directions.”

Coursework enabled explorations into advertising, sales, and social media. One of her favorite classes, Introduction to Sales, proved especially challenging – and rewarding.

As someone who had struggled with shyness, Messina says that she wasn’t sure what to expect but knew that the course would require her to step beyond her comfort zone. Over the course of the semester she learned from a variety of guest speakers and, as a final project, presented a sales pitch to a panel of judges from area businesses.

The course helped build her confidence and learn to assert herself in a professional setting. “It was kind of nerve-racking, but it was a really helpful experience,” Messina says. “It really got me out of my bubble.”

Marketing and design internships with A.T. Cross were also vital to Messina’s professional growth. She worked on the company’s catalog and helped create a social media calendar for Cross’s Instagram account, sparking her interest in that area of marketing.

“My manager allowed me to explore so many different aspects of the company, and that made me really think about my future and what I wanted to do,” she says. “I looked at my future and I knew there was a career for me in marketing.”

Staying ahead of the game

Messina’s confident she’s found her niche. “I’d definitely like to focus more on social media,” she says. “I really enjoy how creative you can get now that we have Snapchat and Instagram and Facebook and LinkedIn. It’s pretty cool to imagine what the future holds for the field.”

She also likes that it allows her to express both her creative and analytical sides. “You always have to be ahead of the game and know where the trends are going. You have to be unique and stand out to your customers and clients.”